What's in a brand?

Shana McIntosh

A bad first impression is hard to shake, especially when you’re competing against millions of contenders online. Princeton researchers found that within 0.1 seconds, people form judgments about the likeability, trustworthiness, competence, attractiveness, and aggressiveness of faces in photos they were shown. What judgement will people form about your brand in the first 0.1 second of exposure?

It’s clear a strong visual identity is important, but what exactly is a visual identity? And how do you create one?

If you are building your visual identity from the ground up, collect inspiration from all over. Take pictures. Gather postcards. Go to Pinterest and make a mood board. There’s so much value already out there that you don’t have to re-create the wheel. Take notes on what you like about existing brands and what you don’t like. Then make yours better.

KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE IS THE KEY

Even the color palettes need to fit what you are trying to convey. For example: If you’re promoting a luxury product, you may want to use blacks, golds, and silvers. If you have a financial product, you may want to incorporate greens and golds. Did you know that research suggests that between 62% to 90% of consumer decisions are based on color, but don’t let yourself get overwhelmed—just keep it simple to start.

McIntosh Marketing can create a simple Branding Package for your business. Creating Social media optimized content, email marketing posts, landing pages, business cards and more! Every item put out by your company shuld reflefct your Brand. Don't be the Company with so many different "looks" to your branding material, you never actually brand anything at all.